Sins of the Daughter
by SerialStoryLover
Summary: When Russia and China veto UN actions against Syria, the team need to put togther a segment. Mac's reluctance to invite a certain guest on the show results in unforseen, but perhaps not unwanted consequences. Will/Mackenzie
1. Chapter 1

_**Sins of the daughter**_

_**When Russia and China veto UN actions against Syria, the team need to put together a segment. Doesn't sound like it, but there is MAJOR fluff ahead! ^_^**_

_**Set 5/10/11**_

* * *

Jim Harper approached his boss, who was frowning up at the flat-screens in the News Night bullpen and sighed to let her know who it was.

"What do you got?" Mac said, turning to her friend.

"Well, here's the list. They all say they're willing to come on, but none of them are from the Big 5. So no one who can really give us an insight on the veto situation – just a load of people with an axe to grind."

Mac studied the list, biting down on her lip. "I think in this situation most people will have an axe to grind."

"I think any situation that involves the use of veto power by the permanent members generally reminds everyone who doesn't have a veto that they have an axe to grind – it's what? Five states out of hundred and ninety-three?" Jim retraced Mac's gaze to the violent images of smoke and explosions and scared Syrian civilians which were running on most of the screens. It gave him chills, looking awfully similar to the memories he had of his own experiences in the Middle East. Apparently, there was now a worse conflict; and he'd never imagined that he'd report on a conflict that would make him think that he'd gotten off lucky in Afghanistan.

"Well, the Arab ones are important. They'll at least give us something to report."

"Yeah, but no different than what anyone else is reporting." Jim sighed heavily. "We need someone British, Chinese, Russian, French or American – who isn't crazy – and _then_ we'll have an exclusive,"

A light bulb came on in Mac's head.

"Okay. Well, good job given what you had to go on, Jim. Go give those guys in Istanbul a call will you? See if there's any news of the guys who went into Homs on Friday?"

Jim nodded, and took off back to his desk. Mackenzie on the other hand stood rooted to the spot, tapping Jim's note in her hand. They _did_ have someone who would come on the show – someone who was British, and wasn't mad, and knew an awful lot about what went on in these situations. The only question was: would Will be okay with it? Would she be okay with it, come to that?! But as was so often the case with Mackenzie McHale, duty overrode her personal feelings, and nervously she went to tap on Will's door.

He looked up as she entered.

"Jim manage to find anyone for the Syria slot tonight? Someone to talk about the vetoes?"

It was now or never. She took a breath.

"He did."

"Great."

"But no one from one of the big five. Looks like they've been embargoed until the press conference."

Will slapped his paper down on the desk in frustration. She knew that he wasn't a massive fan of the UN, and even less of a fan of its complicated hierarchies, rules and machinations.

"Okay then," he said, rubbing his forehead and turning back to her, "We'll just need to –"

"But _I_ have a source." She spat out the words very quickly before she had a chance to change her mind. She closed her eyes, wondering if she was going to regret this.

Will looked confused at her apparent nervousness. "Is he credible?"

"Absolutely." Mac was clearly trying to tell him something without actually saying it.

"Right…so what's the problem?" Will frowned at her, concerned.

"He's my father."

* * *

_**Soooooooooo…that was a wee teaser. I was going to wait and post this on Sunday, but my life is about to get extremely hectic as I'm moving to the Continent in just over a week and before that I have nine days at work and a weekend away (FINALLY!) to fit into the mix :p**_

_**But come on! Will and Mac, with Mac's father thrown into the mix…how could I resist? :p I'll try to update in a couple of days if I can! Updates coming shortly for my other fics too! Cheers you lot! :)**_

_**P.S. Oh, and teaser for what's to come: Mac's father found out the real reason she and Will broke up by hearing about it on that AWM morning show… ;)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Sins of the Daughter Ch. 2_**

**_Hello everyone! I've been away on London for a few days with no access to internet due to the ridiculously high cost of Wi-Fi at Travelodge hotels! Anyway, I did some scribbles on the train, so I'm typing them up now – this is the first :)_**

* * *

Will stared at her. "Your father?"

"Yeah," she looked anxiously at him whilst he frowned at her, puzzled.

"Why wouldn't we have him on?" He asked after a moment. Mackenzie was taken aback, feeling slightly foolish.

"I – well – no reason except…I just…wanted to make sure that you were okay with it first." Will was staring at her blankly and she sighed, frustrated at his clear blindness to the obvious, "I know – he said that he hadn't heard from you since…"

Realisation dawned on Will's face as his mouth formed a round "o", "Oh. Right, yeah. That's not because – I mean –"

"It wasn't him, it was me?" Mac filled in awkwardly. Will nodded, shrugging apologetically.

"Pretty much, yeah."

Mac folded her arms in on herself, feeling as awkward as Will looked. "_You_ don't look like you want him here." Will frowned at her.

"It'll be a bit weird, but I'm sure we'll get over it." She smiled meekly. "So that's okay, we can just –"

"Mac, it won't be weird. I'm sure he'll understand why I never –"

"Yeah, I'm sure he will." Mackenzie muttered under her breath.

"Sorry?" She groaned inwardly, cursing herself for needing to speak; knowing that she would have to explain this to him at some point, so it may as well be now.

"I didn't tell him." She blurted out, exhaling a deep breath. She looked anxiously at him once more, desperately hoping he would understand and they could get this over with, certain that Will would disapprove. He just looked confused.

"You didn't tell him…?"

Slumping down into the seat by Will's desk, Mac rubbed her forehead in her hand, "You were like the son he never had! I couldn't tell him." She looked up almost pleadingly at him. Finally understanding what she was getting at, Will looked (as she had expected) disappointedly at her, before a flash of anger crossed his face.

"So he doesn't know?"

She looked incredulously at him, nearly laughing, "Will the whole Eastern Seaboard and beyond knows what I did." She saw the expectant look on his face and sighed, continuing, "He found out – he found out when AWN morning did that segment on us and Wade –"

"Mac!"

"I know, okay? You think that's how I wanted him to find out?"

"I don't think you did want him to find out." Will accused, and she had the grace to blush.

"You don't think I already feel shitty about it? He called me up demanding to know if it was – if it –" She fiddled with her hands in her lap. "I've never heard him sound so disappointed before. Ever."

A rueful smile appeared on her face, "I didn't mean it would be weird for you. _You,_ I'm sure he'd love to see…"

Will's expression softened as he watched her face fall, certain that he knew exactly what mental diatribe she was currently giving herself. He walked over and perched on the desk next to her as she continued to avoid his gaze and stare at her hands. Reaching over he squeezed her shoulder comfortingly; she immediately found her head tilting of its own accord to lean on his hand, which he twisted so that it cupped her face, running his thumb across her cheek.

"Mac," he spoke softly, "You've spent the last eighteen months – or four and a half years, I guess – kicking yourself for this Mac. I'm the only one you needed to apologise to…And I think you can stop now." That got her attention. Her head snapped up as she tried to work out how far she could take that statement; how much she could read into it – but he knew she would never ask. He knew that Mac saw it as part of her punishment to let him make any first moves.

He could see the desperate confusion behind her eyes, but decided he would tease her for a little bit longer. Giving her a mysterious smile, he pulled her upwards and into his arms.

With no hesitation she wrapped her arms around his neck and waist and buried her face into the hollow at the base of neck, causing him to smile widely as he breathed in her perfume and shampoo. "Don't worry about your Dad," He spoke softly into her shoulder, the hand that had been holding her face now playing with her hair, "I won't let him give you a hard time. Well…not too much of a hard time, anyway."

He could feel her grinning into his shoulder as she gave him a playful slap, making him hug her tighter. Neither of them was quite sure what exactly was happening – only that they liked it.

"Uh, Mac? Did you say – oh – sorry?" Jim caught sight of them as he poked his head round the door and quickly retraced his steps back out the door to leave them to their moment. Mac, however, pulled away from Will, shooting a smile at him and turned to Jim.

"What can I do for you James?" Jim looked between them before responding.

"Well – I guess I was just going to ask if we had a decision yet as to who was going to lead the Syria-UN segment?"

Mac looked back at Will who nodded reassuringly, a hand still resting just above her hip. "Yeah, we do," he told Jim, "We want you to book a Sir Michael Leicester. Mac will give you the number."

Jim looked slightly befuddled, holding a copy of the list he had given to Mackenzie in his hands. "Okay." He said slowly, finally backing out of the room.

Will looked back at the woman standing in his arms as he heard her take a deep breath, "You're his first born child, Mac. He'll always love you, whatever you do." She responded by letting her head fall against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her once more.

* * *

**_To be continued shortly..._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Sins of the Daughter Ch. 3_**

* * *

**SAME DAY: 2PM BRIEFING**

"So," Jim began, turning and looking expectantly between Mac and Will, "Who exactly is this guy we've called in from Long Island?"

Mac smirked, "Really? That's all you've managed to uncover about him? I'm disappointed in you, Jim."

She was only teasing – she knew Will had given Jim a whole other segment to research (deliberately she thought to keep him off the scent, which she greatly appreciated) and which Jim was now protesting about.

Will grinned at Mac before turning back to Jim, "Former British Ambassador to the UN."

Everyone looked around in surprise, impressed at this great find of a guest – everyone except Jim, for whom the puzzle pieces were now slotting together and causing a dawning look of realisation to form on his face, followed by an amused grin.

"How did you manage to hook that one?" Neal asked admiringly; Will left it to Mac to answer. She put her hands up in admission.

"Okay, we cheated. He's my father."

"Really?" Maggie asked, looking slightly shocked.

"I told you that." Jim pointed out, grinning.

"Hey, shouldn't have taken you long to work it out fly boy." Mac shot back at him before shooting him a sly grin and turning back to Maggie, "You think I'm lying?" She asked, amused but trying not to laugh at how much Will was clearly enjoying himself at their little tease. Jim decided to steer them back to the story.

"So what's his position?"

"On the UN? He's a supporter, and has a lot of respect for the institution and the people in it, but he's pro tighter regulation and the expansion of veto power."

"Really? And he was appointed by Thatcher?" Jim suddenly realised that Mac was still sitting next to him and quickly blanched, looking guiltily at her; but to his relief she was smiling wider than ever, almost a look of approval in her eyes.

"He's socially liberal, but it was his slight to fiscal conservatism in the eighties that persuaded her. That and he's friendly with the royals. And obviously, he wants Britain to keep its veto."

"I'll be picking him up on that." Will winked at her conspiratorially, looking as though someone had just given him a big red juicy apple to bite into. Mac raised her eyebrows, amused.

"It's a fair question. But on your own head…" She muttered the last bit under her breath causing a few laughs as she turned her attention back to her senior producer. "Don't worry Jim, I reckon he'll like you. He should be here in about half an hour though, so we can start prepping."

"Who's prepping him?" Maggie asked.

"We will." Will said firmly, looking at Mac who gulped slightly. "Mac and I will talk him through the report and what we want to ask, and then Neal and Jim will go over any technicalities."

Mac looked down at her notes. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

**_Just a shortie, but up next is Sir Michael. Empty your heads now because I am about to stuff them with fluff!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Sins of the Daughter Ch. 4_**

**_APOLOGIES! THIS IS ALL I CAN SAY. Since I last posted I have moved country and it has genuinely been the most stressful period of my life. Plus, before that I was covering shifts for two evil people who went on holiday, so I freely admit that most of my stories have been a bit neglected. Poor Physically and Mentally exhausted. I feel terrible – especially since you've all been so nice to me. I as of yet have no internet, so I haven't been able to post anything either. I'm stealing wifi from a café to post this! It's terrible! Anyway, I'M BACK! And here we go…_**

* * *

"All sounds good to me." Charlie smiled at them from his desk chair as Mac and Will explained their outline for the looming Syria broadcast that evening. Mac bit her lip thoughtfully.

"What do you think, Charlie? Should we actually go all out – go into Syria? Put an end to it, or at least try to?"

Charlie's face suddenly took on a much more sombre expression. "Honestly Mac, I'm not sure. Experience tells me that going into something that isn't on our own turf or to do with our own people will give us a lot of trouble, but…at the same time…"

Vietnam's got to be the best example for why we shouldn't." Will pointed out, nodding.

"I don't like the idea of Americans dying either, but for the last three decades we've been excusing bombing and invading other sovereign countries by saying that we're the world's policeman, despite the fact that at least half the time, our primary motives have been far more to do with self-interest. And now, when there actually is something to police – as you said will, a reason to stand up for what's right – to do something for a moral reason – we're stubbornly trying to be as passively aggressive as possible so we don't anger too many people."

"So you'd have us go into a conflict with no exit strategy just to save face because we did it in Iraq and Kuwait? We should just keep the trend going?"

"No, of course not! You were the one who said that America wasn't great anymore because we no longer stand up for what's right, or do things for moral reasons." She protested, looking at him earnestly. "But I do think that if we decide not to go in then there should be an apology – we should at least own up that our motivations weren't as pure as the White House Press Office made it out to be – we keep going on about not calling a lie "a lie" when we know it's a lie!"

Mac has said all of this in one, very quickly and pacing slightly behind her chair. She now looked at the two men who had turned from watching her to sharing their own look. The older man nodded, a small smile on his face, "You should put that in the broadcast."

"Yep." Will agreed, looking up at Mac, and strange look that she sometimes saw whenever he turned in her direction behind his eyes.

"It's also worth saying that we're all sitting here watching a massacre happening. If that's not 'just cause' then I don't know what is. We're still apologising for Rwanda – it's just another lie we all know Assad is telling, so let's call him on it. Doesn't look like the UN is going to."

"Maybe it's not our fight." Will suggested, brow furrowed. Mac frowned at him, a mixture of mild disgust and pity on her face.

"We said that about Rwanda." Charlie chimed in.

"And you wouldn't say that if you had been in a war zone, Will." Mac said quietly. Will looked up to catch Mackenzie sharing a glance with Charlie, as the older man realised what she was saying. There was a momentary look of unspoken pain in their eyes, mixed with deep regret. "Go to any conflict and you'll feel that even your best will never be enough."

She met Will's gaze with a sharp intensity and he nodded silently, accepting her proposal. He stood up, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder now that she seemed to have momentarily have succumbed to memories.

"That's settled then Charlie. We should go Mac; your father will be here pretty soon." That snapped Mackenzie out of her reverie with a groan.

"Yeah." She sighed slowly which made Will grin.

"I'd love to meet your old man, Mackenzie." Charlie said lightly, his eyes twinkling. Mac groaned again, banging her head on Will's shoulder.

"Sure, you just feel free to invite yourself to the rundown, why don't you? The more the merrier."

"he usually does." Will muttered in her ear. A smile tugged at her lips as she looked back around at their boss.

"Why thank you very much Ms McHale, I think I just might do that." Mac needed no further reason to leave.

"This was your idea." Will reminded her cheerfully.

"Yeuch! Yeah, I know. I'm such a genius!" With that she flung herself out of the door, heading for the elevators, away from Will and Charlie's laughter.

"See you later then Charlie." Will chuckled, grabbing the door before it closed over again.

"Hey!" Charlie called after him. "You behave yourself, okay?"

Will frowned as he caught the slightly more serious way Charlie was looking at him. Almost knowingly – but he honestly wasn't planning on doing anything! Truly! "You're as bad as her!" He protested, "I'm not going to do anything!"

"Well make sure you don't." Charlie warned him gently, before smiling again. "You've given that girl enough grief."

"I know." Will felt a pang of guilt before he looked back up at his mentor and forcing the smile back on his face. He left.

He found Mackenzie holding the door open for him. "Thanks." He ducked inside and took his place next to her.

"You two girlies gossiping?" She teased, "Care to share?" Will shot her an amused grin back.

"We're BFFs Mac. I'd never betray our sisterhood." She giggled and they both smiled, relaxing into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride.

AS they began to head around the corner and into the News Night newsroom, they quickly realised that they might have been at Charlie's a little too long. Horrified, Mac glanced down at her watch, before moaning and quickly trying to turn back down the corridor. But Will caught her just above her elbow and pulled her gently back, shooting her a reassuring smile and she shot a last petulant, puppy-dog look at him before turning one more to face the scene before her.

Most of the news crew were gathered in the middle of the bullpen listening to a story being told by a fairly tall, aging man; very well dressed in beige slacks and an expensive looking Armani shirt with a cashmere cardigan over the top, glasses folded into his shirt and an impressive mop of greying-dark hair for his age, the man was clearly being very entertaining and had a winning smile.

He was gesticulating, clearly re-enacting some scene or other, when one of his gestures caught him looking in their direction and he stopped in his tracks as Michael Leicester caught sight of his daughter. There was a tiny moment of realisation that it was Mac before (to her relief) he broke into a wild smile and immediately began moving towards her, arms wide.

"Mac, sweetheart!" She found that her breathing was a little shallow because she hadn't realised she had been holding her breath. But she calmed down almost immediately as soon as she was in her father's arms and found herself instinctively burying herself into his shoulder, smiling slightly.

"Hey Dad." She replied softly. He held her there for a moment, before pulling back to examine her.

"Oh look at you! They work you far too hard; we've hardly seen you since thanksgiving! Which was almost a year ago by the way!" He chastised her, grinning all the while. She laughed and muttered a vague apology. Will, who had been standing just behind Mac, watching the whole exchange happily now felt he should probably step in.

"_We've_ not been working her too hard – we've hardly been able to get her to leave the building." He joked; there were a few laughs from the group gathered at the bullpen. Sir Michael turned to Will, a very fond expression on his face.

"William! What an absolute pleasure to see you again, it's been far too long! I've been keeping up with the show from across the pond – you're doing great!"

He took Will's hands in both of his and shook them warmly. Will smiled back and shook his head modestly, "Well, I've got a great team and someone who finally managed to kick some sense into me."

He couldn't help it, he had to catch Mac's eye, his stomach doing a back flip when he saw that she was beaming at him. They were too busy looking at each other to note that Michael was watching the brief exchange.

"Well, I think you're doing a brilliant job – both of you! I've just been having a chat with your staffers – where do you want me?"

Immediately into business mode, the unspoken tension which had grown momentarily between Will and Mackenzie was quickly converted into energy for the show.

"Well, if you follow us to Will's office we'll brief you on what we're planning to do whilst this lot get on with the second segment; and you can tell us how ridiculous you think we are." Mac said simply, earning a wry smile from Will and a raised eyebrow from her father.

"Now Mackenzie –" He began, but she grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards Will's office, the latter following in quick pursuit as she waved at the others to continue what they were doing. She let go of her father once he saw where they were headed and dropped back to talk to Will,

"That went a lot better than I expected." She said in a suspicious whisper from the corner of her mouth. He put both hands on her shoulders and whispered back,

"Told you – you're worrying about nothing!" She shot him a doubtful look back.

"I think you're being too quick to assume the storm is over. I think that was just the outer wall – the inner one is going to hit us harder."

Rolling his eyes at her hurricane analogy, Will gave her shoulders a quick squeeze before dropping his hands as they approached his door, "But the eye of the storm is the calmest, right?"

* * *

_**Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a politics student, but the views expressed here belong to Mac, Will, Charlie and Michael as best as I had the ability to express them. (And whoever else ended up speaking here!) This is how I imagine their pitch and tone meetings would go. The next chapter is half-written, so hopefully should be up in the next few days. **_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Sins of the Daughter Chapter 5**_

* * *

Will and Mackenzie's meeting with Michael passed without any great event. He, much to Mac's surprise (and ever-mounting suspicion) agreed to their suggestions without comment or complaint, speaking only to offer additional information that they might want to incorporate into the broadcast.

As they were wrapping up, Will got a call from his agent and excused himself apologetically out into the bullpen. Eyes narrowed, Mackenzie turned to her father, who looked innocently back at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked. She raised an eyebrow at him, knowing that he knew full well why she was looking at him like he was up to something; she gave him the opportunity to confess on his own. He didn't take it.

"Okay." She started, sitting up a little straighter. "What are you plotting?"

He looked surprised. _Damn_, she thought. Maybe she had been wrong. Then again, this man was a UN Ambassador – he had had to lie and be "diplomatic" on TV nearly every day for seventeen years. She shook her head unsure, trying to look for any lie in his eyes. Suddenly his face split into a coy smile, and he moved forward taking her hands in his.

"You think I'm angry at you?"

"Yes!" He tilted his head at her, examining her closely for the first time, and then took the seat opposite her.

He had never known Mackenzie to be insecure since she was a little girl and wanted him to come and tuck her in at night and read her a story until she was asleep – Mac had used to be terrified of the dark and did not like falling asleep alone when she was little. Of course, that had all changed within a few short years and his daughter became a formidable force of nature; independent and very capable of handling herself. He had never had any fears about boyfriends when she reached that age – he was more scared for them than for her! He had been so, so proud of her; though had occasionally worried that she didn't seem to want to settle down, or even just find some stability in her life. But then, he had been exactly the same at her age: a workaholic.

And then she had met Will and Michael had been unspeakably happy for both of them. Nothing pleased him more than to see his eldest daughter happy, and in the process he had gained something which a silent, perhaps slightly ungrateful part of him had always wanted: a son.

Given all of this, it caught him off guard to see Mac looking so nervous and vulnerable. His paternal instincts kicked in and he took a hold of her, making sure she was looking him in the eye. "You're half right, Mackie. I think you were very stupid – but you're still _quite_ young –" She rolled her eyes and looked back him grumpily, making him smile, "and so you're allowed to be."

He glanced back through the office doors to where they could see Will pacing up and down still conversing with his agent. "And anyway, you two seem to be on the road to recovery."

She so wanted to believe that what he was saying was true; but the defeatist in her was warning her that this was her father – her father who loved Will almost as much as he loved his own daughters, and that therefore he was maybe only seeing what he wanted to see. She knew he would never lie to her, but at the same time he had not seen some of the less pleasant arguments that had taken place since she and Will's lives had once more become entwined.

She looked beseechingly back at him, asking timidly, "You really think so?"

Michael looked as though he was torn between exasperation and adoration – these two really didn't get it, did they?

"Mac, sweetheart…you had him the moment you met him. You know your mother and I – and everyone else I think – can see you're made for each other…so you'll work it out. These things just take time." Mackenzie could feel her eyes stinging, and her father wiped her single tear away with his finger, forcing her to look at him once more.

"I'm still hoping to walk you down that aisle one day." Her head exploded, and she had to laugh if only to exhale some of the emotion that sentence provoked.

"Wow, Dad. Too much, okay?" She looked faintly like she might have a heart attack. He laughed at her, resting his forehead on hers trying to soothe her, before kissing her cheek.

"Okay. I'll be quiet."

"Thanks." She looked at him almost relieved. She rolled her eyes just as Will re-entered the room. He stopped as the caught them both staring at him.

"What?" He asked, slightly nervously.

"Nothing." Mac shook her head, smiling slightly and shot her father an exasperated look and moved off toward the window. Michael winked at her, turning back to Will. Mac missed what they started talking about as she looked out at New York.

As much as she was trying to fight it, her father had given new oxygen to the tiny flame of hope that had been burning feebly inside of her since she had returned to Will's side; and whether she liked it or not, the old, vaguely familiar image of her in a white dress in a beautiful green park kept popping up against her eyelids whenever she blinked. She smiled secretly to herself – imagining couldn't hurt…well okay; yes it could, but fuck that right now.

"Mac?" Will's voice brought her back to the present and she turned around, the smile still plastered onto her face.

"Yeah?" Will was slightly taken aback at the totally blissful smile on her face – she looked utterly, almost ethereally beautiful set against the light streaming through the window…utterly kissable. Wait, what? He shook his head, trying to get that rather distracting image out of his head.

"What's up?" She was now the one looking at him slightly confused, but Michael had seen the flash of longing in Will's eyes as he looked at his daughter and turned his head to the side so that neither of them would catch him watching their little moment – one of many, he imagined. Will blinked stupidly at her.

"Uh – I was just saying, I'm happy here if you are? We can let Jim and Maggie in if that's okay with you?"

"Sure. Sounds good." She turned to her father, running her hand along his arm. "So, now Jim and Maggie will run over the logistics of the broadcast with you, answer any questions about timing, segments, guests ect. You remember Jim, right? They'll tell you who the opposition will be – you can do some research if you want to get a gold star." He smiled at her jibe, "Will and I have to go and work on the other segments."

"Jim is the young man from Jalalabad?" Mac nodded.

"My producer in the Middle East, yes."

"You've managed to keep him this whole time, its impressive Mackie. I thought he might have run a mile after the dressing down you gave him after the market place fiasco."

Mac smiled wryly, not taking the admonishment. "He had to learn somehow."

Will had no idea what they were on about – and he had had no idea that Michael had met Jim, but he loved watching them. One of the many amazing things about being with Mac had been her family. His mother had died ten years ago, and his father – well, as far as he was concerned, Michael had been more of a father to him for the space of that year and a bit than his drunken, violent excuse for a paternal figure had managed in a lifetime.

"Come on, Michael. Let me give you a tour while Mac gets back to work." He grinned at Mac who raised her eyebrows, hands on her hips.

"Eh – why don't you let _me_ give my father the tour whilst _you_ go and do some work?"

"Isn't customary for the host to give tours?" Mac smiled ruefully at him.

"Well that says it all, doesn't it?" She walked slowly up to where he was holding the door open for her, her eyes twinkling with amusement. She stopped when she reached him. "If we're treating this place like a house, we clearly spend too much time here."

She turned back to smile at her father before she left, then looked between the two most important men in her life and sighed, looking rueful again. "Alright then you two, try and behave. And you –" she pointed her finger into Will's chest, "You owe me for covering while you go bunking off with the visitors…again."

"Whatever you say."

Shooting a last look back at her father and shaking her head at Will, Mac exited the office and headed back out into the bullpen to field the queries and needs of her staffers.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sins of the Daughter Ch. 6**_

_**Once more, sorry for the delay. I just had an explosion of ideas in my head and so all my ideas for these stories kind of scattered and I had to go around picking up the pieces and fitting them back together. Not sure about this, but you lot never seem to agree with me on that so I have hope :p**_

* * *

Will was surprised at how long it took Michael to ask about him and Mac.

After Mac had left the room, Will had spent a good few minutes asking about Mac's mother and her younger sister Kaitlyn. Apparently Kaitlin had gotten married just before Mackenzie had come to News Night. Mackenzie had never told him this. And Michael also complained that Mac didn't visit often – she would only ever phone them, though she did this fairly regularly. He gave Will a strange look as he said this, as if sizing him up. In truth it made Will a little uncomfortable (something which rarely happened when he and Michael spent time together) and so he moved them onto the tour.

They spent a good twenty minutes standing in the middle of the bullpen with Michael asking what each of the staffers did, before they moved off to the control rooms and chatted about some of the show's recent stories. Will grinned when Michael casually admonished him for his republicanism but did so with a bemused smile on his face; it was as though it had been merely weeks since they had seen each other as opposed to years.

When they had been in the bullpen he knew that Michael had caught him watching Mackenzie a couple of times, and as they walked back through again to go to Will's office, he couldn't help it as his gaze once more instinctually checked to locate where in the room she was. It was something of a habit…he just liked knowing where she was.

"So." Michael cleared his throat as Will politely held the door open for him, "Thank you. So, Will how are you and Mackenzie handling having to work together again?"

Although he had been expecting something like this to come up, the way Michael had phrased it caught Will by surprise. The older man looked semi-serious and had a slight, what could be a frown, pulling at his lips. After his conversation with Mac earlier, Will suddenly felt very defensive, and wanted to clear a few things up with his once-upon-a-time-father-in-law-to- be.

"I know she thinks that you're very disapproving about what she did –" Will said quickly, looking him in the eye as he took the seat opposite him at the small coffee table.

"Well, I –"

"Mike I'd really appreciate it if you let me finish before you say anything." He looked at Michael with a questioning look on his face, whilst receiving a very strange one back. After a moment, Michael nodded, clearly curious…or confused. One of the two. Will took in a deep breath – he was, after all, talking about this man's daughter whom they both dearly loved. "I know you're very disapproving, but I imagine you're also a little pissed at me since she took off to the middle of a warzone.

"But since she's been back…as you can imagine I was a little –"

"Hesitant?"

"Unpleasant." Will said honestly as he crossed his leg, relaxing a bit more. "In the beginning…and maybe for a while after. And then the first broadcast…it all happened in about 10 minutes, but it just felt right. She's good for me – I work a lot better when she's the one berating instructions in my ear. I lost that for the last three years. I was lazy and I was scared. Mac's passion for journalism and the truth is unrivalled in my experience – and without her I lost mine somewhere."

So he had been a little careful with his words, there was lots that he knew Michael would read in between the lines – which was fine with him, because some of it he just wasn't ready to say to anyone, not even Mackenzie; and she should hear it first…if he ever managed to tell her.

There was a silence for a few moments, before Will realised that Michael wasn't going to let him away with it that easily. He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"Will – I think Mackenzie _and_ you, by the way, are both a little stupid. In the beginning, I would absolutely understand you being 'unpleasant', as you put it, towards her. She did a terrible thing to you and she broke your heart." He leaned forward, looking with a soft intensity at his friend, "But I know my daughter, and I have watched her more closely than she knows these last few years – as much as that was possible with her being in Afghanistan – but – and forgive me for jumping to her defence here, she is my daughter – but just so that you are aware, she broke her heart too. And watching the two of you now, I don't understand what the problem is."

Will felt a terrible pang of guilt as he watched this man, who he thought of as a father and who knew him as a son, looked so earnestly at him, full of hope. There were things about him that only Mac knew, and no matter how closely he felt connected to this man, he couldn't tell him about his own father – particularly because of the bizarre and yet indestructible (or so it seemed) way in which he connected his father to this man's little girl.

"It's more complicated than that Mike. I can't forgive her." Michael's face fell as he said this. He slumped back in his seat looking defeated. "I'm trying…I _want_ to be able to." Will offered slightly feebly, not really knowing what to do or to say. He almost felt as though he was letting Michael down.

"Well…" Michael sounded slightly frustrated, and ran his hand through his thinning hair as he tried to think of what to say. But then he paused, apparently realising something, and small smile broke across his features. Once more this threw Will – was he missing something here?

"Do you mind if _I_ don't give up on the two of you?"

Will smiled as Michael said this, his voice suddenly softer, "I hope you don't."

They sat in silence for a moment, simply looking at each other and running over what had been said, before an idea suddenly came to Will, and he found an unwanted and yet amused smirk crossing his face. "You didn't just come here to do the broadcast, did you?"

Michael looked nonchalantly at him, "I came to see my daughter William."

Will looked out the window, shaking his head and unable to keep the smile from his face. A part of him couldn't help but be pleased. Pleased and hopeful…

* * *

_**Right, Chapter 8 is half written so chapter 7 shouldn't be too long. iIm going on a trip this weekend, so I'll try and update something else before I go. I was really supposed to be writing a paper on the Russian Constitution, but I like you guys better than my tutor. BUT in the meantime...**_

_**To make up for a lack of updates, I have a teaser for what's coming up! **__**Chapter 8: Michael takes Will and Mac to dinner...**_

She suddenly frowned. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"I didn't want to tell you before because I thought you'd be better off not knowing."

"Right…to be honest I could have lived without you telling me _now_." Her father simply smiled back at her, like he knew something she didn't. Her frown deepened. "What?"

He just shrugged, "What?"

Ma clicked her tongue impatiently, leaning in and trying to look a little more threatening. "You know exactly what I mean!"

"Mackenzie darling, I don't have a clue what you're talking about." His eyes were twinkling mischievously and she sighed, frustrated, looking infuriated towards him.


	7. Chapter 7

_**So this is pretty much a free for all in terms of characters and POV…bit of a melting pot.**_

_**Sins of the Daughter Ch. 7**_

* * *

Charlie tried to keep a straight face as he watched Mackenzie watching Will and her father talk together in the studio. It was three minutes to air and the rehearsal and run through was over; the two men were just sitting chatting about football or some other trivial thing. Will was laughing, and animatedly explaining a moment from Saturday's game to Michael whilst the older man listened attentively, before replying to him.

What neither of them could see was Mac in the control room, watching all of this on the screens. Herb had been trying to ask her about B block for about two whole minutes before he had given up and rolled his eyes good naturedly when he saw that she was not really living in their reality at that particular moment; more like she had been temporarily spellbound. Charlie had no doubts that as soon as the minute countdown began she would snap out of it and her professional instincts would kick in, but for now he was content to let the others get on with the pre-show technical prep without distracting her. He hadn't seen her so calm in a long time.

Mackenzie was transfixed at the screen, listening to Will and her Dad's conversation flow through her ear, even though she wasn't really focussing on the details. For some reason just the two of them being in the same room again made her feel calmer, safer. Not that she didn't always feel safe around each of them separately…maybe safe wasn't the right word…complete? Yeah, that was it. With both of them there, she felt more complete.

She didn't usually feel that she missed her family; she only got the occasional pang of home sickness, and then it would melt into something to do with work, or her day, or her (few) friends, and she would be fine again.

It had maybe happened a little more whilst she had been on her tour, but she figured that had simply been because whilst she had been in the Middle East where she had most definitely not felt secure. Even when they had been in military bases, there was still always that creeping feeling that although it might be more fortified, there was a reason for that; and crazier things had been attempted by the Taliban than firing on an army base, regardless of its security level.

The other possibility was that Mackenzie had never felt she had to lie to her parents. There were maybe a few things she just never told them, especially when she was younger (what girl didn't?), but she had never really lied to them. Until, that was, four years ago. Four years ago when she had broken up with Will. She simply couldn't bring herself to tell them about Brian. They loved Will like a son – had fully been expecting to call him one in a few months' time…how the hell was she supposed to tell them what she had done?

In the end of course she hadn't…TMI had. Yeah, too much fucking information, thanks! Never had that acronym been more appropriate in Mackenzie's opinion.

"30 seconds." Herb's slow, calming voice came across the microphone and Mac was pulled instantly back to reality.

Will was slowly turning back to face the camera, not quite brushing Michael off, but you could see him turning into the Anchor.

"You guys okay through there?" Mac asked softly, smiling at the camera.

"We're just fine, honey." Michael said into his microphone, smiling through the lens at her. She grinned back, not caring of the fact that she knew he couldn't see her.

"Yes you are." She said under her breath.

"We good to go, Mac?" Will asked, skimming through his notes one last time. Her eyebrow quirked at this…Will never usually asked her that – there was never usually any doubt. Between their egos and their faith in their team, that reassurance was usually more than adequate. Well, that and the fact that they never usually had much time to worry about it…they were pushing it right up to broadcast.

"As always Will."

She couldn't think of anything else to say.

* * *

It was easily one of the best broadcasts that they had ever done. If she ever needed to give some new blood a lecture on what "Three I's and an A" meant, this would be the broadcast she would make them watch as a demonstration. And as a cherry on top of the beautiful cake of journalism that they had made that day, they were the only Newscast to run with a veto-power segment, and it felt pretty damn good.

After ensuring that the control room was shutting down for the night and making a smooth transition to Ten O'Clock, Mac gathered her notes and turned to leave the room, only to find Charlie leaning against the glass, pulling his headset off his face and smiling gently at her.

"Hey Charlie, I didn't notice you. How long have you been standing here?"

He opened the door to walk out with her and let out a small chuckle. "Since about a minute before we went on air."

Shock registered on Mac's face before she managed to compose herself and shook her head slightly. "Seriously? Wow, I'm sorry, I genuinely didn't notice you."

"Yeah, you seemed a little glued to the screen." She didn't catch the twinkle in his eyes, a glazed look coming over her own face as she looked down at her notebook, smiling.

"Yeah we did good tonight. I hardly had to work the control room at all – I mean I didn't even turn around, clearly!" Charlie rolled his eyes to himself and clasped his hands behind his back as they walked.

"So, Ms McHale. Especially after that, I'm quite eager to meet this Father of yours."

"Well, I'm sure I can arrange an introduction." She smiled at him. "I should probably have said earlier, he knows a good scotch when he sees one."

"Really," Charlie's eyes lit up appreciatively. "Well, I should introduce him to the – small, Mac, _small_! – collection I have in my cabinet. If you need someone to keep him occupied whilst you run over the plan for the follow-up tomorrow I'd be happy to oblige."

Mac laughed and nodded, "Right. Sounds like a plan. I think tonight's show has definitely set up tomorrow quite well, so hopefully we won't need to do too much. Unless there are any major developments, or anything changes drastically overnight I'm only planning to run it in the A and four over into B tomorrow, so I doubt you'll be able to get him too drunk."

"Ye of little faith." Charlie muttered under his breath, looking slightly insulted.

"Mackie!" her father and Will came walking out of the studio as she and Charlie headed to Mac's office. They stopped and Mackenzie pulled him into a hug, kissing his cheek. "Great segment Dad, thank you for coming in."

"My pleasure!" He beamed. "I just stood behind the camera for the rest of the show – fascinating stuff!" He was beginning to get very excited about the day's outing, and Mac met Will's eyes, both of them grinning and trying not to laugh. To move them on, she gently put an arm around Charlie's shoulder, pulling him forward slightly.

"Dad, can I introduce my boss, Charlie Skinner? He runs the news division at AWN."

"How do you do, Charlie? You have to put up with both these two? How do you manage?"

Charlie laughed, accepting the handshake and winked at a rather bemused-looking Will and Mackenzie.

"I drink a lot of Bourbon." He said – only half joking (it was, after all, true). "Which is interesting, as Mac here says you're a fan yourself?"

Michael puffed himself up, smiling graciously. "Oh I like a good drink to ease the stress a little in the middle of a busy day. And anyway, a professional's office just doesn't look complete without a crystal glass full of dark liquor."

"You are a man after my own heart."

"And they thought chauvinism was dead." Mac muttered under her breath, but only so that Will – who laughed quietly – could hear her. "My own father…" She shook her head disbelievingly. Will put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly and cleared his throat to interrupt the new discussion on the finer attributes of Kentucky breweries.

"Well gents, you two sound like you could do with said liquor, and whilst it sounds brilliant, Mac and the team and I have a few bureaucracies to wrap up for tomorrow before we can call it a night, so how about we come find you afterwards?"

Mackenzie didn't know whether or not this "we" was a new thing – surely she would have noticed it before now if it was…maybe it was just a temporary thing – but she liked it…which was bad, because she was fairly sure that both Charlie and her father could see the blush creeping across her cheeks.

Maybe she was, in fact, making hay out of nothing…

"That sounds good." Charlie said, placing a hand on Michael's shoulder to steer him away from the News bullpen, "You can join us for a night cap once you're done."

They started to walk away when Charlie called over his shoulder. "And bring Jim up with you! I want a word with him!"

Will saw Jim Harper's head spring up like a deer that has just sensed an approaching hunter, and he walked over to him, slapping him on the back. "Cool it Jim, he's pleased with you. Good work on C block tonight, it was a great segment."

Mackenzie, who had followed them, wrapped her arm around her senior producer and leaned over him to see what he was writing up on his notes, ruffling his hair slightly. "Yep. Not bad Jimmy."

"Don't call me Jimmy." Jim said through gritted teeth, as Mac corrected a grammatical error on his report. She relented her editing and winked at him as she and Will headed over to the conference room. He wasn't really annoyed at her – they both had ways of teasing each other and that had always been hers for him; ever since he had drunkenly let slip in Baghdad that the most annoying thing his mother still did for him was sew "Jimmy" followed by an "L" or an "R" onto name tags in his socks.

She walked past Will was holding the door open for her, but turned to follow his gaze which was watching Charlie and Michael slowly meander around the corner of the News Night bullpen and towards the elevator.

"Do you think they're…" He faded out, clearly thinking better of what he was about to ask. Mackenzie looked at him pensively, a curl pulling at the corners of her lips – she was fairly sure she knew exactly what he had been about to say.

"Plotting?" She suggested in an innocent tone after a few seconds, but there was mischief and suggestiveness dancing in her eyes as Will turned, registering what she had just said. He looked almost surprised that she had actually been paying attention to his words, and even more intrigued at her answer. The ghost of a smile flickered across his face and they stared at each other for a few seconds before their staffers butted in on their moment, by nearly queuing up to follow them into the conference room.

They were professionals; their masks back on as they began the debrief and bounced some ideas around about what they would lead with about Libya the next night.

Mackenzie had been close, however. The first conversation Charlie and Michael had engaged in before they moved onto the early days of the UN and its involvement in Vietnam – Michael had been an Ambassador in the late '70s – and then New York, and then finally Bourbon, was Will and Mackenzie. But "plotting" maybe wasn't the right word…"bemoaning" might be a better one.

**TBC…**

* * *

_**SO. I did debate putting the Michael/Charlie scene at the end of this chapter, but I'm into term time now and with all the work going on I'm just trying to keep this going and flowing right, and it felt a little too long and like a little too much had happened already, so that's where we start Chapter 8.**_

_**But 75% of it is written so it'll be up by the end of the week!**_


	8. Chapter 8 Pt I

_**Urgh. What happened to summer? When I could sit all day in the sun and write? *sniff* Now life and uni keep getting in the way. But I have to say, reading all your reviews tend to get me back to the keyboard, so thank you! They are love feel free to keep doing them hehe. **_

_**So. We're about to have all of Mackenzie's men in the same room at the same time, WITH HER! You cannot imagine the massive smile that appeared on my face as I realised this :p This has been sitting half-written for so long…hope it makes sense lol.**_

* * *

Michael was delighted to find that he had an ally in Charlie, who had already been chipping away at the Will-Mac conundrum even before they had come together at News Night; in fact, that whole set up had been Charlie working his magic from behind a green curtain.

He had more than one reason to be grateful to this man, however – Mac had been a mess in the Middle East. She had done some of her best work, yes, and absolutely made him proud; but she had put a lot in and gotten a few ugly punches thrown back at her in the process. He could tell that at ACN she was starting to mend (and undoubtedly a lot of that was courtesy of a certain Mr McAvoy) but Michael was equally certain that Charlie's persistence and faith, not just in Mac but in the two of them and their team, was a huge factor in Mackenzie's recovery. And for that he would be forever grateful. He told Charlie as much.

"Oh you don't have to thank me." He said, waving his hand as he passed Michael another Bourbon. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I do feel a bit of a father to those two – you can imagine how old that makes me feel – but when Will and I met Mackenzie, we just knew she was different – Will obviously felt something a little else too – but we knew we needed to have her. And he really wasn't the same without her. I'd known Will for several years, thought of him as a third son, and Mackenzie just completed him, and then…well. I'm assuming you know?"

Michael sighed, scratching his head. "Who doesn't? Shame for them, really. I mean – well, it was obviously horrible anyway, but to have it played out publicly like that…terrible for them."

"Mac's been kicking herself." Charlie said sadly.

"I can imagine." Michael nodded, slowly sipping the Bourbon – Charlie _did_ know good drink. "But Will seems to be coming around?"

Charlie smiled wryly, "He should just marry her now after all the shit he's put her through since she got back…but yes, he's getting there. She's a hell of a girl to put up with it."

"She _is_ a hell of a girl. Always has been."

OOOOO

"So, why am I being summoned? It's nothing bad, right?" Jim looked slightly anxious as he, Will and Mackenzie watched the rest of the staffers slowly start to pack up for the night and make their way towards the elevators and home. Mac rolled her eyes and put her arm around him once more; leaning on his shoulder slightly, she finally took some pressure off the balls of her feet and balanced on her heels for a few seconds.

"Charlie just wants to acknowledge that you did a particularly fine job tonight. It's a good thing, James. Fear not."

"Your Dad's scary though." Mac burst out laughing for all of two seconds, looking fondly at her friend, whilst Will's expression was closer to incredulity.

"Are you serious?" Mac shot him a bemused look before turning back to Jim, smiling.

"You met him – in fact, 'met' is an exaggerated definition – you were in the same ten square foot for all of two seconds before –"

"Before he completely went off on one!" Jim cried back.

"Yeah, at an Afghani recruit who was holding his rifle in such a way that since it wasn't locked could go off at any second and kill us all."

Jim's mouth formed a large "o" as a look of dawning understanding appeared on his face. "That's what he was yelling?"

Mac shook her head disbelievingly at him. He could be incredibly dense sometimes. Very occasionally. And far less often than she knew she could be. She smiled.

"What?" He asked defensively. "We'd only been there, what? A month? My language skills weren't quite up to scratch yet. We can't all be like you, Miss I-speak-five-languages."

"Six." Mac shot back sweetly.

Will had been watching the whole exchange with amused interest. He rarely got to see the two of them just comfortably interacting outside of their usual flying around trying to make sure their tight ship stayed on course. He was comforted that Mac had clearly had someone close to her when she had been out in the Middle East.

"Shall we go?" He suggested.

OOOOO

"Ah! There you are. That was quick. Come in, come in. Michael, have you met News Night's senior producer?"

"Well, 'met' is maybe a slight exaggeration, though we spoke for a few minutes earlier. You were in Afghanistan, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir." Michael smiled.

"I remember you. And, 'Michael', please."

Charlie smiled at the young producer as he passed him a Bourbon, and then to Will and Mackenzie who were lurking behind him.

"If I may be so pompously British," Michael cut in jovially as they were all about to take a sip, "Might I propose a toast? To the Media Elite and their continued success?"

Jim, Will and Charlie all laughed appreciatively, and Mac rolled her eyes, going scarlet. Her Dad really could be so British sometimes. They all raised their glasses anyway, however; and despite her feelings on Bourbon, the warm liquid ran comfortingly down her throat after the anxieties she had had earlier that day were finally exercised from her body. She didn't realise that her eyes had slipped closed and that her head had tilted back against Charlie's wooden cabinet until a gentle nudge to her shoulder brought her back to the present.

She opened her eyes to find Will's sparkling blue ones looking into hers, the outline of his body slightly shielding her from the eyes of father, boss and right-hand man – not that she would have been looking at them anyway. Will was standing very close to her and it was exceedingly distracting; comforting though – she actually found herself wanting him closer.

"Hey," he was looking at her mildly concerned, "You okay?"

She smiled back at him, a cosy, fuzzy feeling creeping down to her toes. "You have no idea how weird it is having all four of you in the same room."

"All four of us?" He frowned, not understanding what she meant. God, why did he have to be stupid sometimes? Was he doing it selectively? She blushed, looking into the remains of her drink, not quite knowing how to say it. She didn't actually want to say it to him. She reckoned she could have managed to with any of the others, but with Will it would be taking a step in a direction she wasn't sure they were ready to go in yet, although she desperately wanted to. Instead she settled for being cagey.

"Yeah. The four of you." She tried to tell him without words what she was getting at, a smile coming to her lips a moment later as Will looked around at the three other men in the room and then at himself, and back at Mac, his eyes widening a little as he understood.

To her relief he grinned back at her, and Mac felt herself get hotter – she was sure she must look like a tomato right now and hoped to God that the dimmed lighting in Charlie's office was hiding it (or some of it, at least).

Will found himself (for the second time that day) wanting to just kiss her and pull her into his arms.

He had no idea where all this was coming from. Sure, he'd known that he'd still had feelings for Mackenzie, and that those feelings had been exacerbated exponentially ever since her return – but today was just…he felt like this whole time he'd been sitting with a mental jigsaw, trying to piece together this new, slightly different Mackenzie, and today it had finally all fitted together; with Michael here he had found the missing piece.

Seeing her now, how happy and slightly overwhelmed she looked to have her father, brother, mentor and…well, he knew what he'd like to be, but that was as yet undecided – but four people who were so important to her – showed him that she'd been incomplete, and that she had made sure that was the case deliberately because she seemed to see it as part of her punishment.

He knew there and then that he couldn't let her continue to punish herself anymore. He loved seeing the happy, colour-in-her-cheeks, smiling Mackenzie back. He wanted to make sure that when her father left this Mackenzie stayed. He also conceded that she wouldn't be able to do it unless he stopped hurting her too.

He opened his mouth to tell her this, and then quickly closed it, remembering where they were.

"You two okay over there?" Charlie's voice suddenly called from over Will's shoulder. Will started to turn back, slowly shaking his head at Mackenzie's questioning gaze, before turning to Charlie.

"Yeah, sure." He realised that he wasn't sure how much time had passed. Everyone's glasses were empty.

Mac caught her father's knowing smirk from behind Charlie and she narrowed her eyes warningly. She could see Jim looking at her curiously too, whilst Charlie just look bemused…and ever so slightly pleased with himself.

"Is anyone hungry?" Michael asked, looking around at the group.

Jim quickly excused himself, thanking Michael for the offer but explaining that his girlfriend was waiting for him.

"Say hi to Lisa from us." Mac said pointedly as Jim made for the door, having shook hands with her father and Charlie. He stopped abruptly and turned, one foot out the door, exasperation clear on his face and gave her a look she had only seen on his face twice before.

"Oh please! You're one to talk."

Mac's mouth actually dropped as he nodded goodnight at her, and left the room. Charlie snorted into his Bourbon, and Michael looked between Will and Mac in confusion as his daughter continued to gape at the place where her producer had stood seconds before, and Will looked determinately down at his feet, trying, but failing, to keep a smile from curling at his lips.

There was a moment's silence as Mac seemed to slowly recover, turning around to look dazedly at Will, who shrugged at her, still trying not to laugh for fear of injury. In the end it was Charlie who broke the silence.

"Thank you Michael, I would love to; but like young Mr. Harper, I also have to get home to my lady or she'll have my head in the oven next to the burnt dinner, no doubt. But it was a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully I'll see you again."

Mac was still too shocked, but Will caught the conspiratorial look between the two older men, and Michael's sly wink as they shook hands.

"I hope so too. Thank you for the drink. I'm afraid for you two the offer isn't optional, however. Dinner is obligatory. I haven't seen either of you in a ridiculously long time, so it's my treat."

Conceding defeat, Will gently took Mackenzie's empty glass from her hand, nodding to the door, and crossed the room to place his and hers next to the others.

"Have a good night you three." Charlie beamed as they made their way out the door and into the darkened corridor of ACN.

OOOOO

Will chose one of his favourite restaurants off Fourth Avenue and the staff there ensured that they had the best table and a rather expensive and delicious complimentary bottle of wine. The menu looked mouth-watering after such a long day, and Mackenzie couldn't help but feel warm and cosy at the sensation of sitting next to Will at a restaurant, her father across from them – it had been a long time since they'd been in this situation.

"So, Michael. You said earlier you'd been following the show from across the pond? You've not been in Long Island the whole time?"

Michael smiled at Will's observation over his wine glass. "Sadly, no. My brother was very ill back in Britain so I was over there for a few months helping Jennifer while he was in hospital. As you can imagine she found it all very stressful. I think she was lonely with the kids scattered all over various parts of Europe."

"I'm sorry to hear that. He's doing better now?"

"Yes. A few surgeries – he wasn't very happy…NHS food has not changed at all – but he's been home for three months now so he's settling in. Excuse me, I must use the lavatory."

As soon as he was out of earshot Will turned to Mackenzie, who was staring thoughtfully at the stem of her own wine glass. He nudged her hand with his own and she jolted up, looking expectantly at him.

"Sorry. Did you say something?"

"Are you okay?" He frowned at her, looking concerned. She shook her head, perplexed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You just don't look that happy." She shook her head, and he took another sip of wine before carrying on. "And you didn't tell me any of this. Your uncle being sick, Kaitlyn getting married…You kept all this to yourself?"

"Well," She squirmed awkwardly, "I didn't really know how to tell you – or if you'd have wanted to know."

He was about to but-in and make an objection, but she quickly shrugged and finished her sentence, "We were still on shaky ground, and I thought bringing up my family might make things a little too personal, so I didn't say anything. I'm sorry if you wanted me to."

"No – I mean…I guess it's not really my business, I just – I dunno – your family…I care about your family; they're great folks."

He knew how awkwardly it had come out, but he couldn't think of any other way of putting it without being blatantly obvious…not that he had done a great job of being subtle in the end anyway. He now knew exactly how Mackenzie had felt earlier when she had been explaining 'the four of them' to him in Charlie's office.

He could see Mac biting her lip and trying not to laugh at his botched job of wording his sentence. She was also blushing a beautiful shade of pink and he knew that she understood exactly what he'd been trying _not_ to say. She was right. His relationship to and feelings for her family made things very personal between them. Yet he didn't dislike it, he was just unsure of how to deal with it.

He had wanted to tell her that she didn't have to keep all this to herself – that he'd always be willing to listen and help her, but that sounded a little too like the role he had played in her life four years ago (except there had also been kissing and walks in the park and sex involved). Would one lead to the other this time? Did he even want that? Stupid question.

Before he could say anything else, however, Michael reappeared at the table just as the main course was arriving.

OOOOO

Mac couldn't remember having a more enjoyable dinner in a very long time. She did have to admit that Will had been onto something when he had said she didn't look happy, though; there had been a good five minutes when the two men were talking and she had felt inexplicably sad. The reason was dancing around her brain like some Scarlet Pimpernel that she couldn't quite catch. But the feeling had gone now, and she tried to think no more about it as the three of them dug into their delicious looking deserts and happily chatted about the finer points of Rush Limbaugh's insanity.

It was as they were enjoying their fourth glasses of wine that Will's phone rang, and after looking dispiritedly at the caller ID he apologised, saying he would have to take it.

This left Michael and Mackenzie alone for the first time in hours, and suddenly the feeling of unhappiness returned. For a moment she thought it was Will's empty chair next to her – she had no idea why she thought of that but it was the first explanation into her head – but then she caught sight of him out on the street and though it warmed her slightly, the feeling was still there. She frowned into her wine and taking a sip, once more tried to sort through her thoughts and find out what was bothering her.

"Mackenzie, darling?" Michael was smiling fondly at her and gently took her hand in his. She tried to smoothly put a smile back onto her face, but this was her Dad and the only person in the world who could read her as well as he could was twenty feet away on the other side of the glass.

"Are you enjoying New York? It's been a while since you've been here."

"It's been a while since I've had an invite." He spoke gently, but she could hear the undertone in his voice telling her he was still worried. She suddenly understood what was missing; why she was feeling like this. Flashes of thanksgiving and her parents and Kaitlyn, and them visiting appeared behind her eyes, and it all clicked. How obvious…and terribly depressing!

"Come on Mackie, what's wrong. You looked so happy earlier. What's changed?"

"You're here." She replied sadly, expecting the shocked looked on his face and steeling herself to explain what she meant. "It's just made me think a little more, I guess. A while ago I told someone that sometimes you look beside you and see the life that you could have had, or maybe _should_ have had, and you know that you just have to live with the choices you've made, but…"

She could see the confusion deepen on her father's face as he tried to understand where exactly this was coming from, and indeed going to...

It was a turn in the conversation, to say the least. Up until now it had all been very happy and there had been lots of jokes and laughter.

"I don't know. Sometimes I just look at you and mum and wonder how you managed it all. You raised me and Katie while still managing to have your big careers and live all over the world. And – and then I look at Kate, and she seems to be managing all that…and then there's me and how I've epicly failed at the first part." Michael was staring at her, lost for words and she finished in a low, depressed voice as she stared broodingly at her wine glass, slowly running her finger around the base.

"Mackenzie – you never seemed to want any of that. You wanted your career and to be the best at it that you could be – Charlie came to you because you're the best. You don't have anything to worry about." She smiled wryly, looking almost sympathetically at her father.

"Well, Charlie hired me because no one else would, but that's another story. That aside…" She looked back into her wine glass, struggling to say it; struggling because it was so hard to face that she had changed. "I don't know – I guess it's just that I want things now that I didn't before." She looked across the restaurant and wistfully at the outline of Will on the street.

"Will called by the house a few years ago, you know." Michael said quietly. Mac turned back to him curiously. Her father gave her a small smile. "He came to ask my permission."

It was like he had punched her – even though she had been able to guess where it was going, and even though she knew that Will had been planning to ask her. Just knowing that Will had actually gone to the trouble of going and asking her father, of doing it properly…

Another, now familiar, pang of regret pulled at her heart and she smiled sadly back at him. "I knew he was going to. That's why I had to tell him. I couldn't have let us go down that road without – without being honest."

She suddenly frowned. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"I didn't want to tell you before because I thought you'd be better off not knowing."

"Right…to be honest I could have lived without you telling me now." Her father simply smiled back at her, like he knew something she didn't. Her frown deepened. "What?"

He just shrugged, "What?"

Ma clicked her tongue impatiently, leaning in and trying to look a little more threatening. "You know exactly what I mean!"

"Mackenzie darling, I don't have a clue what you're talking about." His eyes were twinkling mischievously and she sighed, frustrated, looking infuriated towards him. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Will's voice and a gentle hand on her shoulder as he slipped back into the seat next to her, shut her up.

"Join the club. I never know what she's on about." Her mouth dropped, feeling totally outnumbered.

"Are you two in on this together, or what? Will, shut up – you always know what I'm on about." She pouted her lips and took another swig of wine, observing them both peevishly. Will grinned at her face and then relented.

"I know, I was only joking Mac. I'm the _only_ one who ever knows what you're on about."

"I'm wearing heels and I'm not afraid to use them." Mackenzie shot back. He waved her comment away with his hand, laughing into his wine. She raised an eyebrow at him and gently pushed his foot under the table. He looked at her daringly before they both grinned and turned away again.

**TBC…**

* * *

_**Only two more to go on this one.**_


	9. Chapter 8 Pt II

_**Sins of the Daughter Ch. 8 Pt. II**_

* * *

They stayed until the restaurant closed.

After she had talked to her father, Mackenzie felt a lot lighter and freer, like she had worked something out; and though it was a realisation that her problem had actually run a lot deeper than she'd imagined, at least she now knew how to fix it. The question simply was whether she would…if she could.

She had forgotten how easily Will and her father fitted, and fitted into her life; how simple this had used to feel. She wasn't entirely sure how many glasses they'd had now, but she was sure getting up for work tomorrow was going to test their strengths of will.

She knew that she'd started the day off really anxious, had moved to happy, and then as the day had worn on, despite having Will and her father laughing and smiling in the same room, instead of making her think how right this was, it had made her realise how _wrong_ it was – how wrong it was that she would probably wake up tomorrow morning and this would be gone. And she thought it might break her. This is what she'd been confusingly trying to say to her father.

As she sat, relaxed and fairly tipsy, smiling between her two men, she couldn't help the flashes of fictional family dinners, little boys with blonde fluffy hair, tiny girls with dark curls, and a hazy Will, slightly greyer, but smiling at her across the breakfast table. Would that ever be her reality? Or had she really fucked it up for good?

She blinked, and tried to push these thoughts from her head – if this might be the closest she'd ever get, then she was going to freakin' well enjoy it. She leaned forwards to join the conversation.

"What did Jim mean earlier?" Her father asked curiously, as he took a sip of Scotch. Will scoffed into his glass, not managing to find it within himself to meet Mackenzie's eyes.

Having been expecting to join in some conversation mocking either Britain or America, she was taken aback. When had it turned personal? And why did he have to ask _that_ damn question?

"I – well." She looked sideways at Will, who was a bit red and grinning at his plate. She kicked his leg again, and he stilled her by grabbing her wrist under the table. She glared at him, "He's seeing this – absolutely lovely, by the way – girl called Lisa, who is the flatmate of the girl he's in love with…who is our associate producer."

Michael frowned at her, clearly not understanding what the problem was.

"And why is he seeing her flatmate instead of her?"

"Because he's an idiot." She hedged, taking another sip of her wine, as Will put a little more pressure on her wrist. She gave him a look.

"Because Mac told him to – what was it? Gather his rosebuds while he may –"

"And he didn't!"

"No. The girl he really likes – Maggie – the petite blond one? You met her earlier? She's dating my former producer, and the four of them can't sort it out between them."

"Five." Mac supplied, looking thoroughly annoyed at the tablecloth, as though imagining Jim's face there in his absence.

"What? Oh – Sloan. Yeah, One of our other staffers – Sloan Sabbith – is into my former producer…but they're all weak asses and refuse to see what's in front of them."

At this last line, a massive amused smile spread across Michael's face and he nodded, smirking into his glass, before leaning back into his own chair and looked bemused between the two of them.

"I see... So, when Jim said 'You're one to talk'…what do you think he meant?"

It was addressed to both of them, but neither answered. They both remained silent, mouths slightly open, but not quite gaping. He'd spoken to each of them separately that day, but it was the first time that anyone had proposed or even hinted at what he was getting at to both of them at the same time.

When it was clear that neither of them were going to say anything, he simply raised his eyebrow (almost sternly) before leaning back and calling on a weary looking waiter for the cheque.

As he fished his wallet out of his jacket pocket, Mackenzie felt Will's hand hesitantly slip gently from her wrist to her hand, curling around her fingers; her head snapped around to look at him. What she saw there shocked her slightly.

The look in Will's eyes was one of regret and longing; no sign of accusation or bitterness in sight. Her breath caught slightly and hope started to creep once more into her veins. The opposite of a few minutes ago, all the good moments of the day started to run past her eyes, and she found herself smiling slightly. Actually, when she thought about it – really thought through the moments between Will and her today, and in the past few weeks – they were doing pretty damn well considering where they had been when she'd come back.

At the sight of her lips curling, Will's eyes sparked and he held her hand a little tighter, a smile spreading across his own face as her fingers tentatively knotted themselves through his, returning the pressure.

She blushed happily, and looked down at her plate as her father looked back at the two of them. Will could see that he was trying to work out what he'd missed in the last twenty seconds, but right now his loyalty was to Mackenzie, so he rearranged his smile so that it looked at little less mischievous.

"Can we walk you back to your hotel?"

"Oh God, Dad! I didn't even think! You're welcome to stay at mine, of course." Will laughed, running a thumb along the back of her hand in a way that made hairs on the back of her neck stand to attention, but her father smiled at her.

"Not to worry, you were busy at work. It's only for one night. But let me take you for breakfast tomorrow before I head home. When do you have time?"

"She's free from ten." Will said firmly as Mac hesitated. She looked at him accusingly and he shot her a stern look back at her. "Mac, you never stop for breakfast, it'll do you good. You'll be back in time for the tone meeting."

She was about to argue but caught the amused look forming on his face, and shook her head and smiled at her father. "That okay? Or are you going to be too hungover?"

Her voice was teasing and Michael raised an eyebrow at her once more as he pointedly finished the remnants of his scotch, making Will laugh again and causing a bemused expression to form on her own face.

"I, darling, am more worried about the two of _you_ in the morning."

"Ah, it's a News Night tradition to go for a drink after work."

"Not for eight, though." Will muttered, grinning at Michael.

"Hey! Who's side are you on here?"

"Yours, obviously." He said immediately, and Mac nodded triumphantly at her father; but Will tugged at her hand under the table to get her to look back at him, "But that's mainly because he's leaving tomorrow morning and I'm working with you until ten tomorrow night."

"That was uncalled for." She muttered, pouting her lip as he stood up, reluctantly dropping her hand, and taking her coat from the waiter, holding it out for her to coax her out of her seat. Tutting, she pushed herself up, making sure she held onto the edge of the table to minimise the abuse her father and Will could send her way. Her father turned to another waiter who had brought over his jacket and handed over a hefty tip, briefly speaking with him. In the meantime, Will slid the coat up Mac's arms, and once it was settled on her and her back was effectively against his chest, he let his face linger at the side of hers, his lips within millimetres of her cheek.

Her breath hitched once more, and his heartbeat skipped as he watched her eyes close. The ghost of a smile flickered across his face as he saw Michael readying to turn back to them. He gently ran his hands down her forearms from where he put the coat on her, quickly squeezing her hands as he reached them, and twisted to get his own jacket.

They thanked the staff and made their way to the door.

"You've both gone very quiet." Michael spoke airily over his shoulder as he let in some crisp October air when he pushed open the door. Mac looked over her own shoulder to see Will grinning at her and found herself smiling back before skipping a few steps to catch up with her father and slipping her arm through his before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. He turned to look at her, that smile that had always made her feel safe glowing from his face.

"Thank you." She whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. He smiled down at her, pressing a kiss to her forehead, and she suddenly felt like she was ten years old and snuggled in her Dad's arms. She hoped he knew that she wasn't just thanking him for dinner.

She felt Will's warmth at her shoulder and the three of them set off.

OOOOO

Will had never been able to decide whether he thought New York was at its most beautiful at night or at dawn.

There something so magical about a city that looks so alive in the black of night, yet he's always been a morning person; and the way the dawn light glares off the glass jungle of Manhattan has always been equally as magical to a young boy from a town outside a town outside Lincoln.

Michael's hotel was less than ten blocks away, and despite the chilly, crisp air around them, Will felt quite warm as he walked slightly behind Mackenzie and her father; the two of them giggling together as he told her some story about her mother.

There was a smile on his face that he couldn't shake; but it felt familiar, and he was perfectly at ease to let the sensation wash over him.

When they reached the hotel lobby, Michael asked them if they would like a night cap at the hotel bar, but as Mackenzie stumbled on her heel (luckily Will was standing right behind her), Michael conceded that maybe these youngsters should get to bed before they did something dangerous.

"I'll make sure she gets home okay." Will said, laughing at Mac's embarrassed pout as her father looked her over as though she was coming home drunk at seventeen. Michael's eyes flickered up to Will, a knowing, twinkling look in his eyes.

"I'm fine." Mackenzie protested. "If Will's taking me home now, he can take me home in one drink's time, no?"

"No." Will said gently, his arms still gently holding her upright (slightly – in fairness, she was doing okay at standing on her own…he just liked holding her there). "I think since you're seeing your Dad again in nine hours you can forgo one drink and get some sleep."

Mac frowned up at Will, apparently upset that he was making some sense. She looked back at her Dad and stepped forward into his embrace, wriggling into his arms.

"Night Dad."

"Goodnight Mackie. I love you, darling." Pressing a kiss to his cheek, she stepped back as Will stepped forward to shake his hand, ending up in a close one armed hug.

Mackenzie smiled, not particularly caring if either of them saw, nor what conclusions they draw.

"Right, we'll see you tomorrow." Will stopped as he realised what he's said. Would he see Michael tomorrow? The older man smiled wryly at him.

"I'll stop by the studio before I go." He nodded at Will. "Please make sure my daughter gets home safe, William."

"Yes, sir." He nodded a little solemnly, and tucked his arm around Mackenzie, pulling her back towards the door, and grinning as he felt her lean into him.

He knew that if he looked around he would see Michael beaming at them, but he found he didn't need to. The feel of Mackenzie curled into his side was all he needed to make him smile for hours to come.

He did, however, come to the conclusion that his favourite time in New York was when Mac was with him. And this maybe the alcohol talking, but he's pretty sure that he used to feel this way all the time both with and without alcohol, so he's quite optimistic about being right.

He knew Mackenzie's address from the staff address book, but he'd never been there before. He did, however, know that the quickest way to get there was through central park – his and Mac's favourite walking spot when they had been a couple. Boring and obvious maybe, but they had loved it – they were both so in love with this city.

She didn't question where he was walking them, but as they turned off Madison Avenue her arm curled around his waist and her head pressed into his chest.

"Mac," He whispered into her hair. She made a noise and drew closer to him to let him know that she'd heard him. He tried to say something else, and then realised that he didn't know what he wanted to say. He made a few noises of someone who was trying to speak and then promptly shut up again, leaning back into her.

After a moment of him not saying anything, she gripped his waist and made him stop.

"Will, what is it?" Her eyes still showed she was a bit drunk, but there was also a wishful, almost scared look there. He stared back at her, finding himself unable to tear his gaze away from her. He was so tempted to just pull her to him and never let her go…Jesus, what had happened to them today? In the space of eighteen hours, it seemed like everything had become so much clearer. To his disgust, he still couldn't figure out what to say; so failing words, he grabbed her hand once more and pulled her into the park, lifting his arm around her shoulders, her hand still in his so that she was wrapped close to his body, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

They'd been walking for about five minutes, with Will becoming twitchier by the second. He had to stop, pulling them abruptly down to a halt again as they walked past the pond. The way he was holding her meant she was trapped to him, so when they suddenly stopped she fell into him sideways.

"Mackenzie," she looked up into him at an awkward angle, but he seemed so consumed by his thoughts that he hadn't noticed. "I – do you ever feel like we're being ridiculous?"

She frowned at him for a moment, her eyes blinking in what he couldn't decide what was either confusion or disbelief, before she looked away trying to formulate her sentence.

"You – you have got to be kidding right?"

He knew that this was the alcohol fuelling the conversation, but at this particular moment he really didn't give a shit. He actually laughed.

"I mean, I feel like we've just been told off by our tenth grade teacher? I – I – "

"Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you do me a favour, and not do this?"

He frowned at her, not understanding. The hand holding hers which was resting on her shoulder gently ran its thumb down her cheek. "Don't do what?"

"Don't – don't apologise or – or say that you feel bad for doing…everything I guess." He was once more fixed onto her eyes, completely drawn by them. "I think I know what you're going to say…and if you really mean it – if you're really serious than you can actually do this…can we just have a new start and – I mean I would really prefer that you didn't say anything and just kissed me."

Her words were still slightly slurred, but as soon as she said the last thing he smirked, his eyes dancing. But with her free hand, she pressed a finger to his lips, "_But_…only if you're sure."

Her voice turned serious and she looked at little more pleadingly at him, "I'll wait for you. But – but we both know our own history, so let's not relive it?"

There was a small gust of wind and her hair blew gently across her face, making her look a few years younger than she had since she had been back and before she'd thrown herself through a war zone.

He knew what she was asking – a topic he had thankfully been thinking about a lot that day, so he knew that he did vaguely have an answer.

Before he could give it, there was another gust and Mac shivered (it was a rather cold night) and Will instantly pulled her closer to him, wrapping her in as much of his jacket as he could and running his hands up and down her back and arms.

She had taken the sudden movement as an opportunity to look down and away from him, clearly nervous about the answer she was going to get. It made Will smile, if slightly sadly. He quickly put a finger under chin and brought her face upwards to look at him once more; the expression on her face clearly told him that her heart and happiness rested in his hands – in this one small moment. Will realised just how small they were, here together.

"How's this –" His voice came out as more of a whisper than he'd intended, but he somehow felt that speaking at a normal volume wouldn't be appropriate at this moment anyway. "I can't promise that I've completely sorted myself out yet…but I'd rather get through the rest of it _with_ you than without you?"

He couldn't read the look in her eyes and it made him nervous. He could see tears forming there, but he had no idea whether they were good tears or bad tears – not that he really wanted her crying at all, but if there was no alternative he knew which ones he was rooting for.

"I love you Mackenzie. This isn't done yet, but I know enough to know that you're right – we've both been idiots. Is that enough?"

Her eyes had widened brilliantly, and she seemed to be struggling to speak. It took her a few seconds, "You – sorry, you love me?"

He laughed, a small feeling of disbelief washing over him. "Now that is a prime example of one of us being an idiot." She smiled nervously and giggled. "Yes, Kenz, of course I love you."

The smile on her face became a little more confident, and she leaned her forehead gently against his.

"Then yes – of course that's enough for now." He grinned, looking at her as though seeing her for the first time again. "But I still want us to sort this out."

"So do I." He replied instantly, serious once more. There was a happy, peaceful look in her eyes now. He hesitated. "Only if I'm sure?"

It took her a minute to realise what he was saying before her face once more broke into a tentative, watery smile.

Wiping the tears gently from her cheeks, Will kept his eyes open until after she had closed hers and his mouth and moulded to hers.

She was already about as close to him as she could be, encircled by his coat and his arms, but hers slipped around his back so that there was no more space between them as she eagerly kissed him back.

There was a rumble at the back of his throat as he laughed for some reason, making her pull back slightly, torn between curious and worried. He instantly saw the look on her face and squeezed the hands at her waist gently, smiling.

"You can go a little easier Kenz, neither of us are going anywhere."

The relief in her eyes made him laugh again, and this time when he leaned in he made sure he did it slowly, and looking into her eyes and slowing the pace down as their lips met once more.

OOOOO

When Will retraced his steps an hour later, memories of him and Mackenzie here in this park earlier, and in her apartment, and earlier still with her father and their colleagues…he found himself stumped at how it had taken them so long to clear the air between them and get back to how they should be.

As soon as he had her in his arms that day, it had been made perfectly clear to him exactly where they were meant to be.

He still felt like he'd been reprimanded by his high school teacher…but he found he really didn't mind. His thoughts were on Mackenzie, and the future, and the past, and where the months ahead and small diamond ring might lead them.

* * *

_**One. More. To. Go.**_


End file.
